2. Strangers

"Please, Raven, will you accompany me to the mall of shopping?"

Raven didn't even look away from her book when the alien floated eagerly towards her, hovering a good foot or two above the couch, joy and contentment rolling off of her in waves.

"A new shop has opened up that I think you'll very much enjoy!" Starfire continued, unperturbed by the silence. "They have all the teas and coffees and delicious pastries-"

"I'll go Star," Beast Boy chirped from his position on the floor, leaning against the curved sofa after clicking off the TV. "I've been wanting to check it out."

Starfire clapped gleefully. "Most wondrous! And you, Raven?"

Raven felt two sets of eyes on her and she sighed, setting down her book gently. "Do I have a choice?"

"No," Beast Boy said with a snort, springing up to settle down in a crouched position beside her.

Raven glanced at the green face close to hers on the left before her eyes shifted to the orange alien on her right. The concept of personal space seemed nonexistent in both of their mental dictionaries.

"Fine."

Less than an hour later Raven found herself forced into a simple, black, long sleeved shirt tucked into high-waisted light purple shorts walking beside Starfire and Beast Boy. Starfire chose to put on a white sundress and Beast Boy looked oddly uncomfortable in his long sleeve raglan shirt and dark jeans, still wearing his gloves.

"You never take those off," Raven said as they waited off to the side away from the bustling shoppers while Starfire fawned over some jewelry displayed in the window of a popular store.

Beast Boy's shoulders were tense, Raven had noticed. Tense before she voiced her statement. He had seemed to close in on himself about half an hour into their trip around the mall.

"Yeah," he said stiffly, not really hearing what she said. Raven followed his gaze as he watched people walk by.

"Why?" she asked, leaning against the railing.

Beast Boy stuffed his hands in his pocket, glowering at seemingly the air. His nose was wrinkled and she felt irritation emanating from him as clear as day. A swirl of his emotions brushed against her gently. She could sense his usual happiness and ease pushed low and at the forefront was a steady thrum of…contempt?

"Why what?" he asked, moving beside her. His red, annoyed feelings had morphed into something calmer as he pressed his shoulder against hers. She could feel the smallest tickling of pride if she prodded deep enough. What would he have to feel prideful about? She retreated, confusion settling in her own mind as she put up her walls once more, not wishing to delve further into her teammates privacy.

Raven tilted her head. "You weren't listening."

This time Beast Boy shot her a grin. "Now you know how I feel," he said with a laugh, shaking his head. "No, sorry. I was…distracted."

Raven nodded slowly, opening her mouth to restate her inquiry but Starfire returned before she could continue with her line of questioning.

"Lets get out of here," Beast Boy said immediately, pushing away from the rail. "I'm hungry." He turned swiftly, marching away from them, glancing back briefly only to make sure they were following him.

He scuffed his shoe against the tiled floor, navigating around the crowds of people, ears perked and honed in on the voices of his friends a few feet behind him. Beast Boy sighed, rubbing his nose uncomfortably.

He wasn't really hungry.

He just hated smelling what certain men felt and thought when they saw the purple haired Titan.

But he would never tell her that.

Authors Notes:

Wow, thanks for the support! Really nice to see a lot of people are still around. Here's another short based around Beast Boy's sense of smell. The next one is already written but still needs a little bit of editing and unfortunately I won't be home until a day or two. Until then- as always, reviews are appreciated!

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